Coin-controlled lock



Aug. 30, 1927. ,640,605

H. L. JOHNSON COIN CONTROLLED LOCK Original Filed Aug. 15, 1923 2sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 30,1927. 1,640,605

- H. 1.. JOHNSON C0 IN CONTROLLED LOCK Original Filed Au 15, 1923 2. t;5 2

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Patented Aug. 30, 1927.

ENT orl-"ics.

HARVEY L. JOHNSON, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION ASSIGNOR '10 AMERICAN LOCKERCOM- OF DELAWARE.

. COIN-CONTROLLED LOCK.

Application filed August-15, 1023,

This invention pertains to coin controlled apparatus, and the principlesof the invention are illustrated in the present instance as embodied ina coin controlled lock adapted for use on public parcel checkingcabinets, and the like.

One of the prlmary purposes of this invention is the provision ofimproved mechanism for controlling the operation of the look through theinstrumentality of a coin, and

the invention aims to provide mechanism of this character which will bepositive and reliable in operation, and not apt to getout of order, andwhich can be economically manufactured and readily assembled, the lockdisclosed in this application being an improvement upon that disclosedin my pending application, Serial No. 652,472, filed July 19,1923.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a lock in which the coinreceiving slot will be entirely closed, when in locked position, tothereby prevent the insertion of objects therein, and to precludetampering with the lock structure. This feature, furthermore, is-sodesigned that should any objectbe inserted in the slot to prevent'theclosure thereof upon locking movement of the lock, such object will,through .the instrumentality of the slot closure, which is held inabnormal position thereby, serve to prevent locking movement of thelock, with the result that the slot must be entirely covered by theclosure, or otherwise the lock cannot be locked.

For the purpose of facilitating an under- I standing of this invention,I have illustrated on the accompanying drawings a'preferred embodimentthereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection withthe following description, the invention and many of its attendantadvantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings:

' Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a lock em-:

bodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary frontviewwith the front plate removed;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the position of the slot closure whenthe lock is' locked;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View through the coin receiver;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the lock .proper is disposed a lip'15engaging the inner Serial No. 657,480. Renewed July 14, 1927.

mechanism showing the parts in normal un- I looked Fig.

osition is'a simllar view showing the cylinder locked against rotationwhen no coin is deposited in the receiver; and

Fig. 8 1s a similar view showing the position of the parts when the lockhas been locked and a coin discharged from the receiver.

Referring now to the drawings'more in detail, reference character 9indicates generally a key cylinder equi ped with theusu'al lockingtumblers adapted to be manipulated by a key 11, which in the tratedserves as an identifying check by which the customer may recover orobtain access to the belongings which he has deposited in a parcellocker.

The key cylinder is provided near its outer end with a locking -bolt 12,adapted to be moved with the cylinder from the untype of lockilluslocked position shown in Fig. 3 to the locked position shown inFig. 4. Other types of bolts and other modes of connection with the keycylinder may obviously be employed, if found preferable. A fragment ofthe front plate of the locker cabinet frame is shown in Fig. l, andindicated by reference character 13. The front plate 14 of the lock overan opening in the end being' provided with ace of the plate 14, and itsupper end-being equipped with a lock 16, by which the plate 14 and theparts assembled thereon are detachably located in position in thecabinet. A recorder 17 may be connected to the lock so as to be operatedby each'actuation of the lock, and whereby the number of lockactuations, and conse-- quently the number of coins deposited, "isrecorded.

The front plate 14 is provided beneath the key cylinder with a coin slot18, through plate 13, its lower which a coin may be inserted edgewiseinto the coin receiver 19 at the back of the plate. The coin is retainedin this receiver, as will A beexplained, until the look has been movedbox or coin chute 21.

Upon the rear face of the lock plate 14 i there is pivotally mountedupon a fulcrum pin 22 a coin closure 23, which is normally urgedin acounter-clockwise direction by a tractile spring 24 connected at 25 toone arm of the closure, and at its other end to a projection from a coincontrolling lever, which will be later described. When the lock is inunlocked position, as shown in Fig. 3, a lateral projection 26 of theclosure is engaged and held by a cam shaped portion 27 of the lockingbolt, whereby the closure is heldin the position shown in Fig. 3,keeping the slot 18 open for the reception of a coin. \Vhen a coin hasbeen deposited and the key cylinder is turned in a clockwise direction,the locking bolt is carried away from the projection 26 and the closuremember 23 will move upon its fulcrum pin into the closed position shownin Fig. 4, to there by entirely close the slot 18, provided no foreignsubstance or article is inserted into the slot to prevent such closingmovement. Should the closure be prevented from fully closing by a pin,knife blade, or other arti- 'cle inserted in the slot 18, the tail 28 atthe upper end'of the closure will not move far enough to the left,viewing Figs. 3 and 4, to clear the path of travel of a shoulder 29 onthe key cylinder, and engagement of this shoulder with the tail willpreclude turning movement of the cylinder so as to completely lock thelook. When the coin slot, however, is entirely unobstructed, therebypermitting complete closing movement of the closure, the tail 28 willclear the path of the shoulder 29, which will pass beneath the end ofthe tail into the position shown in Fig, 4. The flange 31 upon the keycylinder, of

f which one end forms the shoulder 29, serves ,When the lock is fullylocked, to prevent movement of the closure toward the right, so as touncover the coin slot, and by reason of this construction, the coin slotis entirely closed and locked when the lock is in locked position,thereby precluding the insertion of unauthorized articles in the slot,and also preventing one from tampering with the look through the slot.

Upon a screw stud or pin 32 rearwardly of the closure member 23, thereis pivotally mounted a locking member, comprising a projection 33, towhich the upper end of a spring is attached; an arm 34 provided at itslower end with a finger 35, adapted to project into the coin receiver 19through an opening 36 in the rear wall thereof; and an arm' 37 equippedat its upper end' with a tooth 38, adapted to engage in a notch 39,

' formed in the'perimeter of a; late 41carried by and forming a part oft e key cylinder 9. The cylinder, when the lockis un locked position, isdisplosed in the position shown in Fig. 6, with t e tooth 38 just abovethe notch 39. When the cylinder is turned in a clockwise direction, inan endeavor to lock the lock, this tooth rides into the notch 39 andlocks the cylinder against rotation as will be apparent from aninspection of Fig; 7. The lever is normally urged in a er end at 42 toastationary member 43 of the lock casing. This action takes place,

however, only in the event that no coin is" present in the receiver 19,when the finger is permitted to enter the receiver, as illustrated inFig. 7 If a coin 44 has been deposited in' the receiver through the slot18 prior to turning the key cylinder, this coin will prevent theentrance of the finger 35 into the receiver, thereby preventing thetooth 38 from entering the notch 39, with the result that the keycylinder is free to turn to fully locked position.

The coin is retained in the receiver 19 by the tail 45 of a lever 46,also fulcrumed upon the stud 32, this-tail being adapted to enter thereceiver through an aperture 47 in the rear wall thereof. The upper endof the spring 24 is attached to a lateral extension 48 of this lever,whereby the lever is urged in a clockwise direction about its fulcrum.The upper arm 49 of the lever is adapted to engage the perimeter of thecylinder plate 41, which is shaped to provide a cam depression 51 intowhich the arm 49 falls when the lock is in unlocked position, as shownin Figs. 6 and 7. -When, however, the cylinder has been turned in aclockwise direction nearly to completely locked position, the highportion of the cam will engage the arm 49, swinging the lever in acounter-clockwise direction ;to withdraw the finger 45 from thecoinreceiver, thereby permitting the coin to drop from thereceiver intothe coin box beneath, this-position of the parts being shown in Fig. 8of the drawings. Upon return movement of the key cylinder to'unlockedposition, the finger 45 will again enter the receiver in position tohold the next coin deposited therein until the lock approaches fullylocked position.

The operation of my improved lock is therefore briefly as follows.Assuming the parts to be in the unlocked position illus- 'the receiver,lockin movement of the lock will be prevented y the entrance of thetooth 38 into the notch 39, it being understood that the lock must befully unlocked, or in other words in full unlocked position before acoin may be deposited. in the coin slot. If, however, a coin has beendeposited in the receiver. through the slot 18, such coin will prevententrance of the finger 35 into the slot, and consequently the entranceof the tooth 38 into the notch 39; the key cylinder is therefore free toturn to locked position. The locking of the. lock is however dependentalso upon the absence of any foreign article from the slot 18, orotherwise the presence or such article will preventthe.

- As the lock approaches locked position, the

lever 46 will be rocked in a counter-clockwise direction, withdrawingthe tail 45 from the receiver so as to permit the discharge of the cointherefrom into the coin box. Upon unlocking movement of the lock, theparts are all restored to the normal position previonsly described.

The details of construction illustrated and described may obviously bevaried within considerable limits without departing from the essence ofthe invention, as defined 1n the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a coin re ceiver, a cylinder locking member comprising aportion adapted to enter said receiver and a portion adapted tolockingly engage said cylinder, and means for yieldingly urging saidmember into lockingposition, the

' presence of, a coin in said receiver being adapted to render saidmember inoperative.

2. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a coin receiver, a lever provided with a finger adapted toenter said receiver and a tooth adapted to engage a notch in saidcylinder to lock the cylinder against rotation, a spring for urging saidlever into locking position, and means for releasably retaining a coinin said receiver whereby said locking lever is rendered inoperative.

3. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a coin receiver, a pivotally mounted lever having a portionadapted to enter said receiver and.

a portion adapted to lockingl engage said cylinder, said lever being renered inoperative by a coin in the receiver, a lever comprising a portionprojecting into the receiver to retain a coin in position therein, andmeans carried by the cylinder for actuating said last mentioned lever asthe lock ap-. proaches locked position whereby said coin is releasedfrom the receiver.

4. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a key cylinder, 9. coinreceiver, and

- against rotation upon entrance-of'said lever into the receiver and-theother lever being actuated by the cylinder whereby it is withdrawn fromsaid receiver to permit the discharge of a coin therefrom.

5. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of'a key cylinder providedwith a locking notch and an actuating cam, a coin receiver, a leverrovided with a finger adapted to enter said receiver and a tooth adaptedto enter said notch whereby the cylinder is locked against rotation,said lever being rendered inoperative by a coin in the receiver, and asecond lever having a portion normally extending into said receiver,said second lever being operable by said cam to withdraw said portionfrom the receiver, thereby permitting the discharge of a coin therefrom.

6. In a coincontrolled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a coin receiver into which a coin may be introduced through aslot, a slot closure provided with means for preventing locking movementof the cylinder when said closure is in partially opened position, andmeans inaccessible from the exterior except through a key in saidcylinder for holding said closure against opening movement when thecylinder is in locked position.

7. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a stationary coin receiver to which access is obtained througha slot, a pivoted closure for said slot provided with a tail disposed inthe path of a shoulder carried by the cylinder so as to prevent lockingmovement of the cylinder when-the closure is in abnormal position, andmeans carried by the cylinder forprventlng independent opening movementof said closure when the cylinder is in locked position.

8. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a rotatable keycylinder, a coin re-, ceiver, means for preventing access to saidreceiver when thecylinder is in locked position, said means beingadapted to prevent locking movement of said cylinder if obstruction'isoffered to the closing movement of said means, means for preventinglocking movement of the cylinder during the absence of a coin from saidreceiver, and means for retaining a coin in said receiver until saidcylinder approaches fully locked position,

said last mentioned means being operable by the cylinder during itsfinallocking move-- ment to release said'coin from the receiver. 9. In acoin controlled lock, the combination of a key cylinder provided with alocking notch and a cam, acoin receiver, a cylinder locking memberconstructed to engage said notch and enter said receiver and adapted tobe held in inoperative position by a'coin in the receiver, means forretaining a coin in the receiver, said means being operable by said camto .release the coin when. said cylinder approaches locked position, anda closure for said receiver adapted to revent access. to the receiverwhen the cylinder is in-locked position and adapted to prevent lockingmovement of the cylinder when obstruction to closing movement of saidclosure is presented.

10. In a coin controlled lock, the combination of a ke cylinder, 2. coinreceiver, a. closure for sai receiver, cooperable means IIIrespectively, for preventing locking movement of the cylinder whenobstruction is 4 between fully opened and full 'ofl'ered to closingmovement of the closure and for preventing Opening movement of theclosure when the cylinder is iii locked posi- 'tion, coin controlledmeans for preventing locking movement of the cylinder, and cylinderactuated means'for releasing a coin from said receiver, 7

11. In a coin controlled lock in combina "tion, a rotatable keycylinder, a coin slot and receiver, a slot closure member movable closedslot positions, means connected wit said memher for lockin engagementwith said cylinder upon fai are of said member to fully close said slot,and means for preventing slot opening movement of said member indeperdently of operation of said cylinder when said cylinder 1? in lookingposition.

12. n acoin controlled lock in combination, a rotatable key cylinderprovided with a locking notch and an actuating cam, a coin slot, a coinreceiver, a slot closure member to open and close, said slot, means forrendering said cylinder inoperative upon" failure of said member tofully close said slot, and means for preventing opening movement of saidmember independently of movement-0f cylinder when thelater is in lookingposit-ion.

- HARVEY L. JOHNSON.

